Louden Family Lecture Series

What Will It Take to Fix Social Media?

A Conversation with Professor Karen Frost-Arnold

Social media is plagued with problems of disinformation, harassment, censorship, and digital colonialism. Decisions about what kinds of speech are permitted and who can speak online are made with very little input from marginalized people, especially those in the Global South. There is a moral and epistemic imperative for us to collectively imagine alternative futures for our social media communities.  This talk investigates the promises and perils of decentralized, non-corporate alternative social media platforms.

Professor of Philosophy Karen Frost-Arnold teaches at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. She is author of Who Should We Be Online? A Social Epistemology for the Internet (Forthcoming New York: Oxford University Press) as well as numerous articles and chapters.

Professor Frost-Arnold’s research focuses on the epistemology and ethics of trust. In her teaching and research, she asks the questions: What is trust?  What is the role of trust in knowledge, science, and the internet?  How can I be a responsible & trustworthy knower in a world of power and privilege?  Why have feminist philosophers found trust to be a particularly useful concept?  How can I be trustworthy in my personal life, professional life, leadership role, and civic life?  What is betrayal?  How is trust betrayed and manipulated by individuals and institutions?

Read more about Professor Frost Arnold here: https://www.hws.edu/faculty/frost-arnold-karen.aspx

The Louden Family Lecture Series

Professor Robert Louden, who retired in 2022 , left the Philosophy Department a financial gift to fund this lecture series. The lecture series aims to promote dialogue, foster a sense of belonging, and create fresh perspectives by bringing together diverse ideas and viewpoints in an engaging and thought-provoking way. These lectures will be open to the full University community and the public as part of Louden’s and the Philosophy Department’s commitment to the value of philosophy. An eminent scholar on the works of philosopher Immanuel Kant, Professor Louden continues to travel and lecture and write and translate philosophical works in his retirement.